The words puttee, putty sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do puttee, putty sound the same even though they are completely different words?
The answer is simple: puttee, putty are homophones of the English language.
A strip of cloth wound spirally around the leg from ankle to knee. Often used in the plural.
A gaiter covering the lower leg. Often used in the plural.
A doughlike cement made by mixing whiting and linseed oil, used to fill holes in woodwork and secure panes of glass.
A substance with a similar consistency or function.
A fine lime cement used as a finishing coat on plaster.
A yellowish or light brownish gray to grayish yellow or light grayish brown.
Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.
Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.
If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").